


I used to be a god, but then I took an arrow to the eye

by LulaMadison



Series: Teamwork [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: Arrows, Community: avengerkink, Community: norsekink, Eye Injuries, Gen, Loki Does What He Wants, Norse Myths & Legends, Pranks and Practical Jokes, avenger!loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-24
Updated: 2012-06-28
Packaged: 2017-11-08 11:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/442607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LulaMadison/pseuds/LulaMadison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for <a href="http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/6565.html?thread=11791781#t11791781">this prompt on Avengerkink</a>: "One way or another Loki ends up more or less on the good guys side again. Working with the Avengers is his way of paying back Midgard for the lives he took, but Clint has his own beef with Loki. When Loki asks what price Clint would like him to pay for mind controlling him Clint repeats the whole arrow through his eye thing.</p><p>Loki agrees. It's a pretty fair price as far as he's concerned. He's not exactly looking forward to it, but hey, he'll have a family resemblance going for once. Whether or not Clint has him go through with it or changes his mind and asks for something else is up to you."</p><p>Technically this is a sequel to my fic <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/425403/chapters/713972">Better Teamwork Through Dragon Hunting</a>, but it's written like a one shot so it's not necessary to read the other fic first to understand it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for a tiny bit of gore in the last line of this chapter. Given the title, I'm sure you can guess what it is ;-)

It had been six months since Loki officially became a probationary member of The Avengers in order to pay back his debt to Midgard. Bruce had called it community service, Clint complained that it was more like punishment for the Avengers, and Tony had suggested that he should be made to wear an orange jump suit and pick up all the trash around Stark Tower, but Loki only had one aim: to save a life for every one he had a hand in destroying. It really didn't take that long.

Loki had helped the Avengers defeat a giant magic Octopus by draining it of its power, which allowed Thor and the Hulk to rip it to shreds and send it crashing down from the top of the Empire State Building into the street, where its body exploded in a gloopy mess which took weeks to clean up.

When a rift in space-time had opened up and a posse of cowboys had ridden through it on the trail of a murderer, found themselves in modern day central park, and started shooting out of sheer panic, Loki had been able to create an illusion of the man on the Wanted poster they held, and trick them into following it back through the rift, which Tony and Bruce sealed after them.

When a young human had apparently taught himself the power of magic, fancied himself a sorcerer, and had appeared outside Stark Tower to challenge the Avengers to a fight, Loki had walked up to him and slapped him across the face, then told the tearful boy to go home to his mother. They never heard a peep from that kid again.

At first Loki kept a piece of paper on his bedroom wall and dutifully placed a line on it for every life he saved, but it was quite difficult to estimate just how many people a giant magical octopus _would_ have killed if it had been allowed to rampage around the city freely, and after a while he had given up on the paper and just vowed to do his best all the time, or most of the time anyway, because sometimes things didn't always go to plan.

 

***

 

“I'm gonna kill him,” Clint fumed as he stalked from room to room in Stark Tower, finally ending up in front of Tony's bar. “Where is he?”

“He hasn't come back yet,” Tony said, pouring himself a Scotch. “Probably skulked off somewhere to hide till you calm down. You want one?”

“A large one,” Clint said, and Tony got another glass and began to pour. “More… Keep going… Actually, don't we have a Big Gulp cup round here somewhere?”

 

The Avengers had been called out earlier in the day to deal with an army of Doombots that had invaded Yale University looking for an ancient text in the rare books and manuscripts building.

The battle raged as the bots attacked them with superhuman strength and powerful electric charges, and in the middle of it all Loki wandered over to a reading table and started flipping through a book that had been discarded when the invasion began.

“What the hell are you doing?” Clint shouted.

“Reading,” Loki stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world to be doing in the middle of a war zone.

“Kind of a dangerous place to be doing that don't you think?”

“Deflection spell, remember?” Loki said, tapping his own shoulder, and revealing the glowing green shield around himself.

“Fight the damn things or I'll shoot you myself,” Clint said, as he fired an EMP arrow in the chest of an approaching bot, and watched it fall to the floor, its circuitry fried.

“I'd like to see you try,” Loki scoffed then he held up the copy Schedel’s _Liber Chronicarum_ , to show Clint, and said, “Have you seen this book? It is most interesting, and I don't believe I've read it before.”

“Kinda busy right now,” Clint replied, as Thor charged into view and smashed the head off a bot with Mjolnir, then pounded its body till it was scrap metal.

“Even you will like this one Thor, it has pictures,” Loki said, holding the book up “Look, dancing skeletons.”

“That is a very fine book Loki,” Thor said, swinging Mjolnir round, and destroying another. “Once the metal men have been dispatched we can read it together.”

“It has disrobed maidens too,” he said, holding the book up to Clint again.

“What?”

“Naked ladies to you, Agent Barton,” Loki snickered. “I can't imagine that you are very familiar with them.”

A Doombot ran towards Loki, preparing to strike, he grabbed its wrist firmly, and said, “It is impolite to make a noise in a library.” He pumped wave after wave of magic into it, and watched as the robot disintegrated before his eyes, then he pulled out a chair, sat down, and began to flip through the book.

 

 

The Avengers emerged triumphantly from the rare books building, to the cheers of the Students who had gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the heroes who had vanquished the Doombots. They held cameras and cell phones, taking photos and video to post on Facebook, twitter, and Youtube, and soon the news and images would spread all over the world.

As Tony entertained the crowd with a story of how they defeated the bots, Clint smiled, enjoying the sun, and the cheers of the students, and then as he looked down he noticed the lump in the side of Loki's usually smooth, and close fitting jacket.

“What's that?” Clint asked, patting the lump.

Loki looked down, and innocently said, “Nothing.”

“What is it?” Clint said, grabbing Loki's jacket, and as he pulled away, the book he had been reading earlier dropped to the floor.

“You _stole_ the book,” Clint asked. “We're supposed to be heroes, and you're stealing shit?”

“I _borrowed_ a book,” Loki said, scrambling on the floor to pick it up, and hugging it to his chest. “This is a library, is it not?”

“Give me it, we have to put it back,” Clint said, trying to take it from Loki's arms.

“No!” Loki hissed at him. “I will return it when I've read it!”

The eyes, and cameras of the students turned towards the sight of two the Avengers briefly scuffling over a book, and within minutes the videos that showed Loki turning Hawkeye's suit in a purple ballerina outfit, complete with tutu, would go viral and be posted all over the net.

 

 

A third of a Big Gulp of Scotch later, Loki sauntered back into Stark Tower as if nothing had happened, and Clint slurred “You! I'm going to kill you when I get my hands on you.”

“What have I done?” Loki asked, placing his hand on his chest.

“You made me into a ballerina!” Clint shouted, as he stormed over to the table, and turned round Tony's laptop, to display the picture of Clint’s head photoshopped onto the body of a dancing Hippo from _Fantasia_. “Stuff like this is all over the internet, and it's your fault.”

“Oh, Agent Barton,” Loki said, with a smirk, “I have heard tell that the camera adds ten pounds. In your case it must add considerably more.”

“You know what, I've had it with you,” Clint snapped. “After all the shit you put me through, putting me under that mind control, making me kill people. Turning me into a ballerina in front of the whole word is the last straw. I wish I'd shot you through the eye socket when I had a chance.”

Loki was no longer smirking, and he asked, “Would doing that make you feel better? Would it make up for the things I made you do while you were under my control?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Very well,” Loki sighed. “I shall concede to your wishes.”

“Whoa, what?” Clint asked. “What does that mean?”

“You can shoot me in the eye,” Loki said. “You aren't too intoxicated, are you? I don't want you to miss, and hit me elsewhere. I rather like my nose.”

“Seriously?” Clint asked. “You're gonna let me shoot you in the eye?”

“It seems only fair that I allow you your revenge,” Loki said. “I forced you to kill people, and while I may have saved many lives now, I have not repaid my debt personally to you.”

“Really?” Clint asked again. “You're going to let me blind you?”

“It will only be for a short time, my eye will grow back eventually.”

“I think you should do it,” Tony slurred, from his reclined position on the sofa. “It's not every day someone volunteers to get shot in the eye, and I'm kinda interested to see how this works out.”

“I shall meet you downstairs in the training room in a while?” Loki asked. “I wish to change my clothing. I don't want to get blood on my armour.”

“Sure, shall we say 30 minutes?” Clint asked.

“Very well,” Loki replied. “30 minutes it is.”

As soon as Loki left the room, Tony turned to Clint and said, “You don't think he was being serious was he?”

“Sounded pretty serious.”

“Are you really going to do it?” Tony asked.

“God no,” Clint replied “but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell him that.”

“Naughty, naughty,” Tony laughed.

“Eh,” Clint said. “He deserves it after what he did today.”

 

 

30 minutes later, Loki was in the training room, dressed in a plain black tunic, with a bath towel draped over his shoulders, as Clint and Tony dragged a reluctant Natasha in to watch.

“What's with the towel?” Tony asked.

“I saw no point in ruining perfectly serviceable clothing,” Loki replied. “Where do you want me?”

“Where you are is fine,” Clint said.

“Are you really going to let him do this?” Natasha asked.

“I gave my word that I would, and I will keep it.” Loki replied. “You are only taking the one eye, yes?”

Clint nodded, and said, “You ready?”

Loki clasped his hands behind his back to steady himself, adjusted his feet to make sure he was stood level, and said, “Yes.”

Clint drew back the bowstring, levelled the arrow, as Loki breathed deeply, preparing himself for the pain. “Which eye did you want me to shoot, by the way?”

“What?” Loki asked, letting out the breath he had been holding.

“Left, right? Do you have a preference?”

Loki thought for a moment, and said “The left eye.”

“OK, left eye it is,” Clint said, then he drew back the string, the bow groaning as the tension built. “You do mean shoot you in the left eye, right?”

Loki breathed out again, and said, “Yes, shoot me in the left.”

“Alright,” Clint said, and he drew back the bowstring once again, watching as Loki twitched nervously. “You sure you want the left eye?”

“Just get on with it!” Loki shrieked in frustration. “Take my eye before I pull it out and throw it at you!”

Clint levelled the bow again, pulling the string taut, he watched as Loki anxiously chewed his lip, and then Clint laughed and said, “I can't do this anymore. I'm just kidding with you, man.”

“You do not intend to shoot me?” Loki asked, as Clint lowered the bow slightly.

“Nah, but you should see the look on your face, that was payback enough for-” Clint was cut off by a twang as the string snapped out of his fingers at an awkward angle, sending the arrow flying sideways, and Loki screamed.

“Oh my god!” Natasha shouted, rushing over to where Loki was hopping in small circles at the other end of the room. “Loki, stand still, let me look, OK?”

“Don't touch me!” Loki shrieked as he stumbled around, his back turned to them.

“Let me see,” Natasha said again, and Loki slowly turned to reveal the arrow, shaft sticking out of his left eye socket, with blood running down his face. “I'm gonna go get Bruce, OK? You guys look after him.”

Natasha ran out of the door, and Tony said, “I think you should sit down.”

“I don't want to sit down,” Loki hissed. “I want it out.”

“Don't touch it,” Tony said, moving over to him, “Bruce will know what to do. He'll set you up with the good painkillers.”

“I can't wait,” Loki said. “I'm going to pull it out now.”

“Don't touch it!” Clint shouted.

“I have to get it out,” Loki yelled, as he stumbled to the corner.

“What is going on here?” Thor asked as he barrelled into the room, with Mjolnir raised. “I heard my brother shout in pain. Who among you has laid hands on the son of Odin?”

“Don't get mad, OK,” Tony said. “We kinda had a bit of an accident.”

“If you have injured him, we will have words,” Thor threatened, and Tony and Clint did their best to look completely innocent.

Thor edged his way over to where Loki was crouching in the corner of the room, whining in pain, and said, “Loki, let me see what is wrong. Let me see.”

“I warn you, it is no doubt ugly,” Loki whimpered.

“Brother!” Thor cried, as Loki turned his head, and allowed Thor to see his face. “Who did this to you?”

“It's an arrow, who do you _think_ did it!” Loki snapped.

“Barton,” Thor rumbled, as he stood up, and walked across the room with a menacing stare.

“Whoa, whoa, it was an accident,” Clint said, putting his hands up, and backing away. “I really didn't mean to do it. I slipped.”

“And yet you still hit my brother?”

“Well, they don't call me Hawkeye for nothing,” Clint replied, and Thor practically growled in response, raising his fist.

“Loki! Don't!” Tony shouted, and everyone turned to see Loki now stood up in the corner of the room, his hands tightly gripped around the arrow shaft.

“I have to,” he said. “It hurts too much to leave it in.”

“Don't pull it!” Clint shrieked.

“Nay, brother, please don't.”

“It has to come out,” Loki said, and then he screamed as he began to pull on the arrow shaft.

“No! No, NO!” Tony shouted.

Loki stopped screaming as the arrow came out with a wet plopping sound, and he said, “That wasn't too bad was it?”

There was an enormous thud as Thor fell flat onto his face on the floor, followed a few seconds later by Tony.

“What has happened?” Loki said. “Are they injured? Is there sleeping gas in the air?”

“They passed out, man,” Clint said.

“Why would they pass out?” Loki asked.

“Look what's in your hand,” Clint said, cringing.

Loki looked at the arrow, it's shaft slicked with blood, a few tattered remnants of flesh, but nothing that Thor hadn't seen before, and certainly not enough to make him pass out.

“Oh,” Loki said, as he noticed his detached eyeball skewered behind the head of the arrow, the optic nerve flapping about as he tilted the shaft, and then he hit the floor with thump too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still warning for possible eye related squick ;-)

“What the hell happened?” Bruce asked as he entered the training room with Natasha, and saw three people laid on the floor.

“It was an accident,” Clint replied.

“You killed three people by _accident?_ ”

“They aren't dead,” Clint said. “Although Loki might be.”

Bruce moved over to Loki who had fallen face first onto the floor, knelt down and put his head on his back. “He has a strong heart beat and good breath sounds.” He turned him onto his back, and said, “Oh my _god_ , what happened to his eye?”

“That was kinda the accident,” Clint said, screwing up his face, and scratching the back of his head. “I think the other two just passed out.”

“You know the recovery position, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Check their vitals, then move them into it,” Bruce said. “I need to get Loki down to the medical lab right away. Natasha can you help me?”

“Sure thing, doc,” she replied.

 

 “How is he?” Clint asked, when Bruce finally emerged from the medical lab some time later.

“He says he's fine,” Bruce said. “I tried to persuade him to go to a hospital, but he said he doesn't need any treatment.”

“Thor and Tony?”

“Fine too,” Bruce replied. “Just about to send them back to their rooms to get them out of my hair, actually.”

“Can I see Loki? I really wanna apologise to him.”

“Sure,” Bruce said, “but you'll have to forgive the state of his bandages. He would just _not_ stop squirming.”

 

“You look like a pineapple,” Clint said, when he walked into the lab, and saw Loki sat on the bed with a ridiculously large bandage wrapped around half his face and head, which caused his hair to stick up madly.

“Thank you,” Loki replied. “Am I to assume I have repaid my debt to you, now?”

“Absolutely,” Clint said. “Everything, past, history, gone.”

“Excellent.”

“You aren't angry at me?” Clint asked.

“Why would I be angry at you?” Loki asked. “I volunteered for the procedure.”

“I really didn't mean to do it, it was an accident. I just wanted to mess with you.”

“Do not worry yourself,” Loki said, then he looked over Clint’s shoulder and said,  “Oh, actually, maybe you should.”

“Barton!” Thor shouted, entering the room with long purposeful strides, followed by Tony. “I would have words with you about the injuries you inflicted on my brother.”

“Run, Clint! Run!” Tony shouted. “By words, I'm fairly certain he means punches.”

“Calm down, Thor, I'm fine,” Loki said loudly.

“You are well?”

“I'm perfectly alright, now do leave Agent Barton alone. It wasn't his fault.”

“You do not wish me extract wergild from him?”

“No,” Loki replied. “We have resolved our differences, and I harbour no ill will towards him.”

“Very well, brother,” Thor said. “I will not take further action. Clint, I am sorry for shouting at you.”

“Thanks,” Clint replied, moving forwards from the wall he had been cowering against.

“Top marks on that bandage job, Bruce,” Tony said. “You were aiming for Bert from Sesame Street look, right?”

“Some people don't understand the meaning of the phrase 'sit still'” Bruce said, giving Loki a withering stare.

“So I haven't hurt him too badly?” Clint asked.

“According to the MRI scan the arrow went clean through his brain, did significant damage, and yet he seems to be fine,” Bruce replied.

“I'm a god. What did you expect?” Loki said. “I've been decapitated before, so this is of no real consequence.”

“So you have brain damage?”

“I do,” Loki replied.

“What does it feel like?” Tony asked. “Have you left about 50 IQ points of brain matter on the training room floor?”

“Perhaps I did,” Loki replied. “Although that would still leave me about 50 IQ points above you.”

“I see the 'smart ass' centre of your brain is still intact.”

“Of course,” Loki replied, a smirk spreading over the uncovered side of his face. “I must say that I am rather surprised at you so called heroes, swooning like maidens at the sight of a little blood.”

“You passed out too,” Tony said.

“Shall I impale your eyeball on a stick and we shall see how you react?”

“I did not swoon like a maiden,” Thor grumbled. “I was merely overcome with emotion at the sight of my beloved brother so injured.”

“Yeah, me too,” Tony said.

“I am not your brother,” Loki said to Tony.

“I meant my beloved... friend.”

“I am your _friend?_ ” Loki asked, clasping his chest, and Tony nodded hesitantly. “Why, I've never had a friend before. This is absolutely wonderful.”

“You've never had a friend?” Tony asked, with a mix of disbelief and sympathy.

Loki chuckled lowly, and said, “Of course I've had friends, you dullard. I'm a prince. Who wouldn't want to be friends with a prince?”

“I do not remember you having any friends, Loki.”

“Shut up, Thor!” Loki hissed, glaring at him as much as he could with only one eye. Then he sighed, turned to Bruce, and asked, “I am well enough to go to my room, yes?”

“Sure,” Bruce said. “There's no bleeding, and it looks like it's healing already. I'd prefer it if someone stayed with you tonight just in case there's any problems.”

“I will stay with him,” Thor said.

“There's really no need,” Loki replied.

“Nay, brother. I will sleep on the floor.”

“I said I'm fine,” Loki snapped, as he swung his legs round, hopped off the bed, and then staggered slightly, until Thor caught his elbow. “Actually, perhaps it would be good if you could accompany me back to my room.”

“Gladly,” Thor said with a smile.

Loki sighed and began walking towards the exit, and then everyone winced as he smashed his left shoulder into the door frame with such force that it spun him round and he landed flat on his back in the corridor.

 

 

 

Life with only one eye was more difficult than Loki had assumed it would be. Odin made it look easy, as he valiantly rode into battle with his golden eye patch glistening in the sun, while Loki could barely walk through a door without almost breaking his shoulder.

Preparing the simplest of meals proved to be near impossible with absolutely no depth perception, and he had been forced to allow Thor to aid him in most daily tasks, simply because he spent most of his time attempting to get hold of things, and missing.

It also didn't help that Stark had taken advantage of his half blindness, and developed the annoying habit of creeping up on his left side, and shouting “Boo!” loudly in his bandage covered ear, or poking him viciously in the ribs, making him drop whatever he had just spent the last minute trying to pick up.

 

He hated the dressing more than anything. It was itchy where it touched his face, and made his hair lay in uncomfortable angles, but after a few days he had been allowed to remove it and take a shower.

He stood in front of the mirror as he unwound the bandage, preparing himself for what would no doubt be a grisly sight, but instead as he peeled off the final layer of wadding, he realised the wound was quite neat.  His torn eyelids hung uselessly over the hole in his face, and while the flesh was healing, no longer raw or bleeding, the smashed bone at the back of his eye socket had not rebuilt itself yet, and he was fairly certain that if he prodded inside the wound he would be poking his own brain.

He shed his clothes and stepped into the shower, adjusting the water to his desired temperature, then let the spray ease his sore, bruised shoulder, and run over his lank hair.

Bruce had given him some shampoo to use, but as he flipped open the bottle top the medicated smell made Loki wrinkle his nose in disgust, and he knew he would not be able to stand that stench on his hair, following him around. Instead he picked up his own shampoo, and tipped a generous amount into his hand.

 

Bruce was startled when the door of his lab flew open, and Loki burst in clad in only a bath towel, and his hair dripping wet and full of soap bubbles, and asked, “What's wrong?”

“I think I have shampoo in my brain!” Loki shrieked dramatically, as he ran across the lab, and crouched in front of the table, his hands gripping the top. “Get it out! It hurts!”

“Did you use the shampoo I gave you?”

“No, it smelt funny,” Loki said. “I used my mint and Tea Tree shampoo. You have to help me, please, it's burninggggg!”

Bruce went to the eye wash station on the wall and picked up the bottle, and said “I'll flush it out.”

Loki ran round the table, and crouched at Bruce's feet. “Do it quickly. It feels like acid.”

Bruce tipped Loki's head back, then aimed the long tube at the hole where his eye used to be, and filled it with the sterile fluid. “Lean forward, let it drain out, then I'll flush it again.”

Loki did as he asked, wincing each time the cavity was washed, and Bruce said, “You know, you're really lucky. I can't believe you're still alive, let alone washing your hair.”

“I'm a god, remember? Even you couldn't kill me.”

“Lean forward again,” Bruce said. “Don't you have some kind of healing spell that could fix this?”

“If I did that, what be the point of allowing Agent Barton to take my eye in the first place?”

“You know Clint doesn't want to see you suffering like this, he didn't mean to shoot you. It was an accident.”

“Sometimes while intoxicated people will admit the truth that would not say otherwise,” Loki replied. “I believe Agent Barton meant it when he said he wanted to shoot me.”

Bruce indicated for Loki to tip his head forward again, and said, “How does that feel?”

“Much better,” Loki replied. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Next time use the shampoo I gave you,” Bruce said, as he handed Loki some wadding to wipe his face.

“I will.”

“You don't really think that, do you?” Bruce asked, as Loki stood and secured his towel once more. “That Clint wanted to shoot you?”

“You really think the greatest marksman in all the realms would shoot someone completely by accident?” Loki asked, and Bruce shrugged. "It may have been a subconscious action, but Agent Barton wanted to shoot me, even if he didn't know it, so I will pay my penance, and I will not use magic to heal myself."

 

 

Loki wandered from room to room, alone, bored, and feeling slightly abandoned, with no one to entertain him. The Avengers had gone out on a school visit, what Banner had called a community outreach program, designed to teach children to stay away from crime and make their lives better, and it had been decided that the sight of Loki, with his face half bandaged, and his hair stuck up like a pineapple might be a bit too much for the kids.

At first he had tried to occupy himself with one of the games that Clint and Natasha regularly played, but he didn't know how to turn the machine on without help. He decided to watch television, but had flicked to a news channel, saw his brother cheerfully interacting with children in a school yard, and felt a spike of jealously flare up in his chest. He had turned the TV off, and started aimlessly drifting.

Steve's room was boringly plain, containing little in the way of homely touches or personal possessions, but he had his own apartment, and only stayed at the Tower if it was too late to go home. Loki briefly considered rifling through the drawers to check if the Captain really was as perfect as he seemed to be. Perhaps he was harbouring a secret sex toy stash, or had the deeds to a toxic chemical factory under his bed, but in the end he decided against it. It seemed rude to look through someone else's private quarters, and instead he settled on taking some of Natasha's underwear from the laundry room, and hiding it under Clint's pillow.

Thor's room, rather predictably, looked like it was regularly host to a family of wild boar, and was littered with empty plates, mud covered boots, and discarded armour. Without servants to clean up after him Thor had always been content to live in his own filth, knowing that eventually Loki would be driven mad by the disarray, and this time would be no different, as Loki spent 20 minutes picking up the plates, and putting the dirty clothes in the laundry.

As he came back, after dumping the last load of Thor's dirty clothing, he noticed a new pile of well read books had been placed on one of the many useless side tables that seemed to litter Stark Tower. The top book was a cheap paperback of Norse myths, its cover creased, its spine was spindled, and as he flipped through its pages he chuckled at the illustrations.

 

Tony was the first to arrive back at the tower, landing on the pad outside, his armour stripped from his body as he walked, and as he entered the room he found Loki sprawled on the brown leather sofa, holding a book up to his good eye.

“What you reading?” Tony asked, as he made his way over to the bar to pour himself a drink, and Loki held the book up so he could read the cover. “Surely the fact that that book is about you is the biggest spoiler in the world?”

“I told you before, not all the myths are true. Besides, the illustrations in this one are very amusing,” Loki said, as he held up the book so Tony could see a rather stocky figure wading across a river. “They made Thor look fat.”

“That book certainly made for some interesting reading,” Tony said, and Loki grinned. “Do you really have a sea serpent for a kid?”

“Jörmungandr? He is very real,” Loki replied. “I can take you to meet him when I am better if you like.”

“He's really _here?_ On Earth?”

“Yes, he couldn't live on Asgard.”

“Odin cast him out, right?”

“Don't be ridiculous, the All Father would _never_ do that,” Loki snapped. “The seas on Asgard were completely unsuitable for him, so I placed him in a nice sheltered body of water in a place which I believe is known as Scotland now. He seems quite happy there.”

“Scotland? Your sea serpent son lives in _Scotland?_ ” Tony asked, and then he thought for a moment. “It wouldn't happen to be in a place called Loch Ness would it?”

“Yes, that's the one, do you know it?” Loki asked, excitedly.

“OK... if I'm gonna have a conversation with the father of the Loch Ness monster I think I need a considerably larger drink,” Tony said, as he pulled out the Big Gulp cup that Clint had left under the bar, and started tipping Scotch in it. “So tell me about Ragnarok. Did they really tie you to a rock and let a snake drip venom on you, or hasn't that happened yet?”

“Oh yes, that part is true, but I'd been a _very_ naughty boy,” Loki said. “But Ragnarok is one of the biggest lies ever told about me in these books. It's preposterous really.”

“So you aren't going to kill the gods?”

As Loki opened his mouth to speak Thor entered the room. “Brother, you are just in time, I was about to tell Stark about when I caused Ragnarok.”

Thor laughed, and said, “That was indeed a great day.”

“Come join us, you can help me tell the tale,” Loki said, patting the sofa, and Thor moved across the room to sit.

“ _Caused_ Ragnarok?” Tony asked, as he moved round to the sofa area carrying his unfeasibly large Scotch, and sat down. “I thought you said it wasn't down to you?”

“It was, and it wasn't... You see, everyone in Asgard knows what you would call ‘the drill’, the signal that Ragnarok has arrived, and when they hear it they are supposed to don their armour and prepare to fight,” Loki stated. “When Heimdall blows his horn, we all must respond. Unfortunately he didn't keep that horn as well hidden as he thought, and it was a fairly simple matter to discover that he had buried it beneath Yggdrasil.”

“You _stole_ it?” Tony asked.

“Oh, yes,” Loki smirked. “I stole the horn, took it to the highest point in Asgard and I blew it.”

“What happened?”

“Well, everyone panicked of course. Ragnarok was coming, it was time to fight the army of the dead, and I sat on top of a tower watching the chaos from on high.”

“Warriors ran through the streets brandishing their swords,” Thor added. “Women and maidens armed themselves, and made their way to the battlefield too.”

“The whole of Asgard, stood and waited for Ragnarok to come, which of course, it never did,” Loki said.

“Everyone got soaked, there was a huge storm, and many capes were ruined,” Thor added.

“And whose fault was that?” Loki asked.

“Mine,” Thor mumbled. “I was a little upset.”

“I still say it was your fault that everyone discovered it was me,” Loki said. “You just couldn't resist telling tales to father, could you?”

“Brother, everyone in Asgard was present on the battlefield, apart from you. Who else could have been blowing the horn?”

“That is completely besides the point!” Loki snapped, and then he continued, “So anyway, you know the rest. I was dragged down from the tower, there was a serpent, a rock, and the dripping venom, as apparently no one on Asgard has a sense of humour.”

“I thought it was amusing,” Thor said. “Once my armour was dry.”

“Thank you, brother,” Loki replied.

“So you've never sailed a ship made out of toe nails clippings?” Tony asked.

“Of course not! That is the vilest thing I have ever heard,” Loki replied. “I can't imagine it would be very watertight either.”

“Good to know,” Tony said, draining what was left of his Scotch.

 

Tony slept fitfully that night, as the room spun around him after his Big Gulp of alcohol, and he threw the covers off himself. The light of the Arc Reactor sent a dim blue glow around the room, and Tony suddenly got the distinct feeling that he wasn't alone.

“Hi,” Tony said, when he cracked his eyes open, and saw Loki at the foot of his bed, leaning over him with a pair of a scissors.

“Hello,” Loki replied.

“Are you planning to stab me with those?”

“No.”

“Are you clipping my toe nails?”

“No,” Loki replied, innocently. “I'm not really here. I'm in my room.”

“You are?”

“You're dreaming Stark, go back to sleep.”

“OK,” Tony replied, pulling the covers back over his feet, and turning over, as Loki quietly crept back to his own room, and added Tony's toe nail clippings to his growing collection.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony knew Loki had been clipping his toenails while he slept, and after staring at the feet of the other Avengers after they came out of the shower or padded barefoot into the kitchen in the morning he had deduced two things: 1) Loki was only cutting _his_ toenails, and 2) He was rapidly getting a reputation as a foot fetishist so he better quit staring at everyone's feet. 

These facts led him to two possible explanations: 1) Loki was lying about not being the cause of Ragnarok, and out of all the Avengers only his toenails were worthy of creating a boat to transport the dead, or 2) Loki was cutting his toenails for a prank.

This caused him to decide to take one course of action: keep Loki busy, because a bored Trickster with one eye was 1) More likely to play pranks that may end up with Tony losing a toe when he slipped, and 2) More likely to actually start Ragnarok simply for something to relieve the tedium.

He decided to come up with a list, some tasks that would be easy for a person with one eye to take part in, and named it _Operation Dalek_. After a while he had one thing on his list: “Looking through a periscope”, and since he didn't actually own a submarine just yet he started to write a list of things _he_ wanted to do, where Loki could tag along too.

 

“What have you guys been up to today?” Natasha asked, as Tony walked into the kitchen followed by Loki, who was no longer wearing the huge bandage, just a small dressing held on by tape, which he picked at constantly.

“We've been to see a movie,” Tony said.

“You have a good time?”

“Oh yes,” Loki said. “We ate popped corn, and drank large beverages, and saw a play about lions and it was wonderful, if a little blurry.”

“Lions, huh?”

“Yes, it was thrilling. There was a astonishing scene where beasts ran everywhere, and the silly lion was banished, and his dead father appeared in the sky.”

“Wait, that's the Lion King,” Natasha said. “You took him to see the Lion King?”

“Sure did,” Tony replied.

“You took someone who only has one eye to a 3-D movie?” Natasha asked, and Tony nodded.

“I really wanted to see it though,” Tony said, and then he turned to Loki. “You enjoyed it, didn't you?”

“Oh yes, it was magnificent,” Loki said. “I am not ashamed to admit I found it very emotional, and may have wept a little at the end.”

“A little?” Tony asked. “People were throwing popcorn at you to get you to shut up.”

“I couldn't help it,” Loki said. “The part when the hero was thrown from a rock and devoured by wolves was just devastating.”

“You mean Scar?” Natasha asked. “But… Scar is the villain.”

“Yeah, I've tried telling him that a dozen times,” Tony said. “He doesn't seem to get it.”

“Can we watch another movie soon?”

“You know what we should watch?” Natasha asked, and Tony shook his head. “How To Train Your Dragon.”

“Ohhhh perfect choice!” Tony exclaimed, then he turned to Loki and said, “You're gonna love it. I'll order pizza.”

 

“How does it look?”

“Pretty good actually,” Bruce replied, as he shone a light into the hole where Loki's eye used to be. “The socket is fully reformed, so no more shampoo in the brain, and your eyeball has started to develop.”

“Excellent news. Do I have to keep wearing the dressing? It is very irritating.”

“I think you could do with some kind of covering over it, not necessarily the dressing, perhaps an eye patch?”

Loki grimaced, and shook his head. “I'm not overly fond of the idea of wearing an eye patch. To be honest, I've always found my fathers eye patch a little gaudy for my tastes, but don't tell Thor I said that. He will be most upset.”

Bruce was slightly taken aback that the man who frequently wore a bright gold horned helmet was calling an eye patch gaudy, but then he said, “Well, maybe we can pick a different style. We could get you one like Fury's”

“Oh!” Loki exclaimed. “I like his eye patch. Something like that would be very much more to my taste.”

“Well, I'll give him a ring, see where he gets his from, and see if we can get you hooked up with one as soon as possible.”

 

“What do you think?” Loki asked, as he showed off his new eye patch for the Avengers, who were gathered round the kitchen table eating lunch.

“It looks magnificent, brother,” Thor replied.

“Do I look as ‘bad ass’ as Director Fury?” Loki asked, and Clint choked on his pasta.

“Indeed you do.”

“Director Fury supplied us with the name of the market where he buys his eye patches, and Stark was kind enough to take me there this morning.”

“That's not the only place we went,” Tony chimed in.

“Yes, Stark also took me to a trading hall, and he purchased a hat as a gift for me.”

“A hat?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe you should go put it on and show everyone,” Tony suggested.

“Is it not impolite to wear a hat to the dinner table on Midgard?” Loki inquired.

“Kinda, but you wouldn't be wearing it, you'd be modelling it. There's a slight difference.”

“Alright,” Loki said, as he dashed excitedly from the room.

“You didn't buy him what I think you did, right?” Steve asked. Tony smiled and shrugged.

Thor looked confused, and said, “I do not understand.”

“Do you like it?” Loki asked as he proudly marched back into the room wearing a tri cornered pirate hat, and Tony smirked.

“Oh my god,” Natasha spluttered, gagging on her drink.

“That is a wonderful hat, brother,” Thor proclaimed. “I have never seen one like it.”

“It really is wonderful,” Tony agreed. “In fact I think you should wear it every day.”

“Tony,” Steve interrupted, “sometimes you can be a real jerk, you know?”

Tony opened his mouth to protest, when Jarvis interrupted. “Sir, you have an urgent message from Shield. It appears there is a disturbance and the presence of the Avengers has been requested.”

Everyone jumped up, and moved out of the kitchen, preparing to suit up on their way to the Quinjet hangar on the upper floor.

“Can I come?” Loki asked, as Tony moved past him.

“I think you should stay here, Captain Jack,” Tony replied. “Don't want you getting hurt.”

Loki moved out into the corridor, and watched everyone disappear leaving him alone in the tower once again.

 

 Tony was the first to arrive back home, and as he hovered in the air over his landing pad, he was rather surprised to find it occupied by a table with a giant sun umbrella in the middle of it, and Loki sat on a reclining chair in the shade.

“Did you pick that spot on purpose to piss me off?” Tony asked, as he landed at the side. “There's plenty of room over there for tacky garden furniture.”

Loki lowered his book, tilted back his pirate hat, and squinted at Tony. “Perhaps. Although this spot did seem the most aesthetically pleasing for a round table.”

“How exactly am I supposed to get my armour off if you're sat there?”

Loki huffed in displeasure, placed his book on the table, raised a hand, and Tony's armour vanished. “There we go, all safely tucked away, back wear it belongs. Care to join me for a drink?”

“I think I'd prefer a real drink, if you get what I mean,” Tony replied, eyeing the jug filled with a brown liquid, fruit, and what looked like leaves.

“This is a _real_ drink,” Loki said, creating another glass, and filling it from the jug. “It's called Pimms. Apparently it's a traditional summer drink. I found the recipe on the internet, but I've found it's much nicer with ginger ale, not lemonade as they suggested.”

Tony looked at the drink, noting that there was a slice of cucumber floating in it, which was definitely something new, and tentatively took a sip. “Hmmm, that's actually really good.”

Loki waved his hand, and created another reclining chair. “Please sit while we wait for the others to return. Tell me about the battle.”

“You didn't miss much really, just a few Doombots running around trying to smuggle a bomb into the city on the boat. Killed them, defused the bomb, posed for a few photos.”

“Sounds like fun,” Loki replied wistfully.

“Yeah well if you hadn't tried to steal that book, and got Clint all riled up you'd still have two eyes, and you wouldn't have to stay behind,” Tony said. “What the hell was so special about it anyway?”

“Thor said he would read it with me,” Loki replied quietly. “Whenever I spend time with Thor it usually doing something that he wants to do. It is nigh on impossible to get Thor to do anything with me that _I_ like. I just wanted to spend some time with him.”

“And now you get to spend a lot of time with him, of course most of that time he's cutting up your food for you and trying to feed you like a baby.”

“Will you please let me come next time?” Loki sighed.

“I'm not saying this because I don't want you to come, but you're injured, it wouldn't be safe for you to be out there.”

“But you need me!”

“Need you?” Tony asked. “I seem to remember we managed to kick your ass, so whether we actually _need_ you is debatable.”

“You didn't defeat me, you defeated the Chitauri,” Loki snapped. “If they hadn't bungled their end of the plan I would be ruling this realm right now.”

“I guess you would have delighted in having us all publicly executed, right?”

“The others maybe, you I would have kept as my personal slave.”

“Nice,” Tony replied. “But I seem to remember someone who happened to look an awful lot like you, getting dragged off to Asgard in chains.”

“You think that was defeat? That was part of my back up plan,” Loki said. “Go back to Asgard, recuperate, and find new allies with which to take over Midgard.”

“Didn't exactly go to plan then?”

“Well no, Banner has apparently been through a lot of treatment with a mind healer himself, and filled my brothers head with information about something called… family therapy?”

Tony nodded. “Seemed to work though? I mean you're here, trying to save people rather than wipe us out.”

“I believe it worked out very well,” Loki replied. “Although I was not a willing participant at first. I tried to escape many times until they tied me to my chair, but I was allowed to state my list of grievances without being interrupted or judged, and it was good to simply express myself for once.”

“How long did that take? 2, 3 weeks?”

“Of course not,” Loki said. “I lost my voice after the first four days.”

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the sunshine, the slight breeze, and the cool drinks.

“It has helped though,” Loki said quietly, as he stared off into the distance. “I felt like no one had ever really listened to me before that. It was nice simply to be heard. Do you know how it feels to be ignored by your own family?”

Tony sat and gazed across the skyline for an uncomfortable moment. “Yeah… My dad didn't really have a lot of time for me.”

“Oh, I'm sorry Stark, I didn't know,” Loki replied.

“Funnily enough he knew Steve, back before he became a capsicle. It felt like he spent more time talking about Captain America than actually talking to me. I mean you've seen Steve, how on earth was I supposed to live up to a legend.”

“That must have been hard,” Loki said, genuine empathy in his voice.

“No harder than growing up in the shadow of Thor I'd imagine.”

Loki hummed, and continued to stare out across the city with a slightly sad look on his face, and Tony wasn't quite sure what to say.  He knew he should say something comforting, something that showed he really understood, but he had no idea what that would be, and then he decided he could no longer stand the awkward silence.

“Dude, seriously, put some clothes on, if you're gonna lay out here,” Tony said. “Half of NYC can probably see you.”

“What?” Loki asked, then he waved down at his loincloth and said, “This is traditional Asgardian wrestling gear.”

“You look like your wearing a diaper.”

“A what?”

“You know, what a baby wears.”

“A nappy? It does not look like… Oh, I suppose it does really.”

“I guess you could do with a bit of colour, might stop you looking slightly less like a ghost.”

“I am wearing sunblock.”

"Figures," Tony said, laying back in his chair. “You know, I quite like this, relaxing in the sun after a job well done, but you know what we could really do with?”

“What?”

“A hot tub. Maybe put it up top where the portal machine was, get some nice planters, a few inflatable palm trees,” Tony replied, and Loki looked slightly confused, as Stark stood up and wandered into the tower.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, sir?”

“See if you can find anywhere local that does express hot tub delivery and installation, preferably today. No expense spared, of course.”

 

Six hours later, as Loki and Thor, both dressed in Asgardian wrestling gear, played a furious game of Swingball, the Avengers sat sipping champagne in the newly installed hot tub, watching the sun set over the city.

“Now this was definitely one of your better ideas,” Natasha said.

“Stop hitting the ball in that direction!” Loki screeched. “It's cheating! You know I can't see it when it comes that way!”

“Nay, brother,” Thor said. “That is the point of the game.”

“I don't want to play anymore if you won't play nicely!” Loki raged, and smashed his racket over Thor's head.

 

 

The Doombots were back, this time attempting to force their way into the Natural History Museum, but every attack on them by the Avengers failed.

“Why the hell aren't they going down?” Clint shouted, as he watched his EMP arrow bounce uselessly off the chest of a bot.

“They've got some kind of shield around them, but Jarvis can't even detect it,” Tony answered.

“I believe the shield may be magical,” Thor said as he called Mjolnir back to his hand.

“Clint, take the Quinjet,” Steve ordered. “Go get Loki.”

 

 “Loki!” Clint shouted as he ran through the tower, before he finally entered the kitchen and found him pouring an extremely large spoon of sugar into a hot chocolate.

“What are you doing back?”

“We need you, come on, get moving,” he said, grabbing his elbow.

“But Stark told me to stay here,” Loki replied, pulling his arm away.

“We're getting killed out there,” Clint said. “The Doombots are back, and he's placed some kind of magical whammy on them to make them invulnerable and we need you to break it.”

“No,” Loki said, shaking his head. “In my present state I would only be a burden on the team.”

“Look, I know you can fix your eye, and I'm pretty sure you aren't because you think you owe me something, but you don't, so get it fixed and get your magical little ass out there and do something about those bots.”

“You say I owe you nothing, but I don't believe you.”

“What?” Clint asked.

“You really did want to shoot me,” Loki continued. “It may not have been on a conscious level, but deep down you still harboured resentment towards me.”

“Maybe,” Clint said. “Maybe a little, but I shot you by accident.”

“And accident where you miraculously hit your target perfectly?” Loki asked.

Clint thought for a moment, and then said, “OK, maybe I was angry, and upset, and maybe I didn't shoot you on purpose, or maybe I did without thinking about it, I don't know anymore, but I'm sorry.”

“It is not you who should be apologising to me,” Loki replied. “I'm very sorry for what I did to you, Agent Barton.”

“You know what, my name is Clint. I don't like it when you call me Agent Barton. It reminds me too much of before.”

“Clint… Do you accept my apology sincerely?”

“Yes, I do,” Clint replied. “Now are you gonna fix that eye?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No, I will let it heal of it's own accord to allow you to see my penance,” Loki replied, “but I will join you in battle.”

“Good enough,” Clint said. “Come on, let's go.”

 

The bots were impervious to damage, surrounded by a deflection spell similar to the one Loki used so often, but it didn't take him long to decipher the magical threads, and spot the pattern in their weft.

“Can you disable the spell?” Clint asked, as Iron Man flew down the street, blasting the bots with his missiles, and knocking them off their feet, but they quickly climbed back up, undamaged.

“A few seconds more, and I should be able to work a counter spell.”

“Everyone regroup,” Steve shouted. “We're wasting our time attacking them while they still have their shields.”

The Avengers moved back to Loki and Clint’s position, gathering behind them as the bots advanced down the street.

“I think you need to hurry,” Steve said, as the Doombots moved closer.

“I am doing my best,” Loki replied. “I almost have it.”

Hulk snorted impatiently as the bots walked towards them, and Thor shuffled from foot to foot in his eagerness for battle.

“I have it!” Loki shouted, as he raised his hands, and aimed a bolt of magic at the closest Doombot, and missed it completely. “Oh, it appears my aim is not very good.”

“I'll help,” Clint said, standing behind Loki's shoulder, so he could reach round and guide his hand. “Shoot!”

Loki blasted the bot with a massive blast, and it's magical shield dissipated in a cloud of sparks. “Aim again!”

Clint held Loki's hand, and together they blasted each bot in turn, leaving them defenceless and vulnerable.

“Let's go!” Steve shouted, and the Avengers advanced together, smashing the Doombots until they were little more than scrap metal.

 

 

“Hey,” Clint said the next day, when found Loki alone in the kitchen, flipping through a discarded newspaper.

“Good afternoon Agen... I mean good afternoon Clint.”

“How's the eye?”

“Much improved. I can see light, and shapes, but it's too blurry to be uncovered just yet.”

“How long till it's better do you think?”

“Banner thinks a few days at most.”

“Good news.”

“Very much so.”

“I brought you a present,” Clint said, putting a brown paper bag on the table.

“A present?” Loki asked. “Why would you buy me a present?”

“I felt bad about shooting you. If I was still angry with you I should have told you, I shouldn't have let it simmer away. Come on open it.”

Loki picked up the bag, and pulled out the copy of Schedel's _Liber Chronicarum_. “It is the book from the library.”

“It's only a reprint,” Clint said. “I had a hell of a time finding it, but I hope you like it.”

“It is a wonderful gift, thank you very much Clint.” Loki said, handling it as if it was a rare and precious thing.

“Go on then,” Clint said, and Loki looked slightly confused. “Tony told me why you wanted it. Thor's just finished in the training room. Go find him.”

“Thank you,” Loki said, getting up from his chair.

 

“What you doing?” Tony asked, as Clint sat on the brown leather sofa, gazing out of the huge windows.

“Just enjoying the view,” he replied, as he watched Loki and Thor curled up on the reclining chairs, protected from the heat of the bright sun by the large umbrella, laughing at the book that was propped up between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read or left kudos and nice comments. It is very much appreciated, even if I am sometimes slow to reply!
> 
> The sequel to this is [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/467784/chapters/808271) :-)


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